Eurozone retail sales slip, led by big German drop

Eurozone retail sales, a key indicator or demand in the economy, slipped in June even as other data suggested the bloc was finally turning the corner on a deep recession, official data showed Monday. Retail sales by volume in the 17-nation eurozone fell 0.5 percent compared with May when they rose 1.1 percent, the Eurostat statistics office said. In the 27-member EU, sales were down 0.3 percent after a gain of 1.3 percent in May. Compared with data for June 2012, retail sales were down by 0.9 percent in the eurozone but up 0.1 percent in the full EU, Eurostat said. It said the largest June gains were reported in the smaller economies of Malta with 1.8 percent, followed by Luxembourg, 1.3 percent and Denmark, 1.2 percent. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, saw retail sales fall 1.5 percent. Eurostat gave no explanation of the figures which tend to be volatile and heavily influenced by seasonal factors.